


The King's Queen

by AKnightOfAGoodKing



Series: The Distance of Time | Birds of a Feather [4]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
Genre: Family, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Implied Kizunashipping, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:54:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28499367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AKnightOfAGoodKing/pseuds/AKnightOfAGoodKing
Summary: Excerpt:The king was born on the eleventh day of the first month, and next in his line was a queen born on the first day of the eleventh month. In his honor, the queen was bestowed his name, and the king gave her both time and world.[DO NOT REPOST/REUSE MY WORK(S) WITHOUT MY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND PERMISSION]
Relationships: Jack Atlas & Ryouken Kougami, Kougami Kiyoshi/Original Character(s)
Series: The Distance of Time | Birds of a Feather [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1983496
Kudos: 1





	The King's Queen

**Author's Note:**

> It's Jack's birthday! I'm sorry it's sad. QAQ It just happened that way. (If you want more context, check out my OC profile I linked in this series.)
> 
> HBD, KING, I LOVE YOU! 030

The king was born on the eleventh day of the first month, and next in his line was a queen born on the first day of the eleventh month. In his honor, the queen was bestowed his name, and the king gave her both time and world. She was his granddaughter, his only granddaughter, and though she seemed his very opposite, he loved her dearly and cherished her like the rarest gem in all of the kingdoms and all the lands. The queen at her birth was the smallest thing, sickly and quiet, but the king made certain that she knew love and joy and that she lacked nothing. And she grew up laughing and smiling, and beautiful, her hair white like snow and her eyes the clearest blue skies. She made friends, fell in love, married, and had a beautiful child of her own. 

So when the king heard of the queen's untimely death, gone too soon and before him, his heart splintered, grief seeping into the cracks and settling deep into his soul. Jacklyn didn't even make it to her twenty-sixth birthday, and Jack was at her deathbed, staring at the white cloth placed over her face. Her chest was still, and no breath escaped her lips. The world had ceased to know the sound of her voice and the image of her beauty since five thirty-two this morning. She went as quietly as she came, the only noises made by those who loved her. 

Her husband, Kiyoshi, was on the other side, sobbing into her arm, squeezing a hand that would never again respond. By his side was Sky who was crouched on the hospital floor, her face buried into her hands as she wailed for her daughter. Crow and Yusei were trying to comfort the two as they kept themselves from breaking down, tears openly streaming down their faces. They were strong, Jack knew, but they were shaking too, their hearts lodged tightly in their throats. It was a terrible sight, and Jack knew he should go to them, to step up and take care of his family. 

But he just felt _so numb_. Jacklyn was not the first person Jack had lost in his long life, but she was his little queen, his namesake. She was supposed to outlive him, not the other way around. _He_ shouldn't be burying her. If he could, he would take her place on that bed, to be the one who was gone, but he could never because existence wasn't fair or played favorites. Sometimes, it was cruel and ironic, and this was one of those times, wasn't it? 

He tore his eyes away from the blank cloth over his granddaughter's face, and he was hit with a moment of nostalgia, of hope, when he looked to Ryōken, who had tug at his sleeve. Ryōken, Jack's great-grandson, Jacklyn's only son who resembled her so much, it was like seeing a spitting image save for the part where he took after Yusei. The boy was five, quiet and small, and Jack knelt down on one knee to his level, patting him on the head. 

"Is Mom gone?" the boy asked, lips thinned. He was young but smart for his age, too smart. 

"Yes," Jack answered gently. "I'm sorry, Ryōken."

His great-grandson shook his head. "It's my fault. If she didn't have me, she would still be alive."

The king frowned, and he pulled his great-grandson into his arms. "Never say that," he said, and he held Ryōken closely, feeling him trembling. "You can't blame yourself for things you can't change." 

"But . . ."

"The world is better to have had you in it than to have never had you in the first place, Ryōken, no matter what you think. You are innocent in this, and faultless. You're simply a child, and the choices we adults make are for us to see through, even if they are not what we wanted in the ended. Your mother never once regretted having you, she loved you. We all do. Never forget that."

Ryōken let out a sob, wrapping his arms around Jack's shoulders, and Jack hugged him back even tighter.

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't know if I would write anything for Jack's birthday, but coincidentally, I made a short with the theme of birthdates with him. Unfortunately, in my fanon, his life is met with more grief after Jacklyn. Jack is 76 in this fic.
> 
> Check out my YGO Tumblr: [@the-kings-of-games](https://the-kings-of-games.tumblr.com)


End file.
